134 



THE ANCIENT MINERS OP LAKE SUPERIOR. 



[1853. 



a single groove, is in tlie possession of Mr. S. W. Hill, and is here In tliat case the nurabere who would die in this h'^althy region 



figured in outline as ^■iewed edo-ewise: would be small; and no large towns would be built, or permanent 



habitations, such as would be likely to surnve to our times. 



It is thus by analogies and b}' proofs that we may connect the 

 ancient copper-minere of Lake Superior with the " mound- 

 buildere" and the Aztecs. 



It is a question of some interest how much time has elapsed 

 since these mines were worked, and also since the Aztecs aban- 

 doned the valley of the Mississippi. I think there is some evi- 

 dence showing that the two regions were deserted by them about 

 the same time; and this strengthens the presumption that all 

 was the work of one people. 



The timber which remains in the ancient diggings of Lake 

 Superior is in a better state of preservation than that found in 

 the mounds; but not more so than would naturally result from 

 the coldness of the climate, the greater durability of the timber 

 itself, and the fact that much of the timber of the mines is and 

 has been continually covered with water. 



In the Grave-creek mound, and in othei's, the crib-work or 

 enclosures of the Aztec skeletons are of wood, and it is found to 

 be very rotten ; but these are in all cases above the level of the 

 soil, the earth which surrounds them is dry and artificially raised, 

 and into which the atmosphere penetrates. 



Although some of the cedar and pine timber from the old 

 copper mines is still comparatively sound, like this piece taken 

 from a pit on the Copper Falls location, eighteen feet below the 

 surface ; all the well-preserved pieces were fiom wet places or 

 under water. The trees from which the mound-builders con- 

 structed their burial vaults are le s lasting than the northern 

 timber, if both kinds were jslaced in the same circumstances. 



Timber may be preserved under water and constantly wet 

 earth many thousand yeais. I have in my possession many pieces 

 of cedar from the "stratified drift" or '• diluvial deposits " on 

 which this city is built, that must have been buried many thousand 

 yeai-s before man was placed upon the earth; and these siieeiraens 

 are as solid as the old oaken crib-work taken tVom the Miunosotah 

 mines. They are even more solid than this ancient cedar shovel, 

 taken from the Eagle Harbour location, and presented to me by 

 Dr. Blake, and which was sometimes not covered with water. The 

 ancient cedar trees beneath our town were from twelve to twenty 

 feet from the surface, and were always either wet or moist. ^■■11 

 circumstances considered, the time indicated by the timber-rem.ains 

 of Lake t'uperior is as great as by that taken from the mounds, 

 and both may have been left there two thousand yeai-s ago. 



There is a very sure guide that may be followed in determining 

 the shortest space of time since tha mines and the mounds were 

 abandoned, and that is the age of the growing timber which 

 stands upon them. There are living trees now flourishing on 

 these ruins which are more than three hundred yeare old. 



On the same spot there are the decayed trunks of a preceding 

 o-eneration or generations of trees that have arrived at maturity 

 and fallen dow'n fi'om old age. It is also a matter of conunon 

 observation, that where land has been cleared and remained a 

 long time in cultivation, if it is abandoned, a diflerent Hnd of 

 timber from that which was cut away fii-st springs up and has its 

 dav. It is only by a slow jirogress of encroaclimcnt that the 

 ancient and surrounding forest trees i-egain their dominion over 

 the soil ; and thus it is only after generations have passed away 

 that the now growth is crowded out and disappeai-s. On the 

 ancient earth-works, and on the ancient mining-pits of the North, 



No distinct marks of a metal tool have been seen in these 

 ■works. The "gad" must have been used as at this day, by 

 di-i\-ing it into the cracks and fissures of the rock, to break out 

 fnigments. Other mining tools will probably be found, such as 

 picks, or something answering the purpose of them. 



The traces of fire and heat are frequently visible in the remains 

 of charcoal and ashes, far down in the wrought veins, and on 

 pieces of blackened rocks, among the rubbish. 



There are mines of copper now wi-ought by fire, at Rammels- 

 burg, in Germany, and which have been in operation for a great 

 length of time, many hundred feet Leneath the surface. 



There are, also, in the county of Munster, in Ireland, on the 

 Lakes of Killarney, mines of copper, supposed to have been 

 wrought by the Danes, which have shafts 300 feet deep, and 

 which were wrought by the agency of fire. In the same mines 

 are found hammere or mauls of stone, the same as those of Lake 

 Superior, with grooves around the middle. 



It is, therefore, not impossible to work very extensive mines 

 without the use of jiowder, or even without the use of any 

 instrument of iron or other metal. 



The Danes may have had iron tools, for there are marks of 

 wedges visible on the sides of their shafts; but they knew nothing 

 of the mode by blasting, for powder had not been discovered at 

 that time. 



The civilization and general state of advancement of the 

 Danes must have been similar to that of the mound buildei-s, if 

 we may be allowed to judge by the monuments they have left 

 behind them. 



There has not been observed on Lake Superior any remains 

 that indicate the existence of cities, or permanent houses of earth 

 or stone. Mr. Hill is of the opinion that he has seen two 

 " mounds" or tumuli, near the Ontonogon, that are artificial and 

 ancient. These are the only known works resembhng those of 

 Ohio, except the gravel pits about the Portage Lake. There is 

 nothing to show that the country was permanently inhabited by 

 the ancient minei-s; and as their works were open cuts, and not 

 galleries, it must have been almost, if not quite, impracticable to 

 work them in the wintei's of that latitude. 



No graves or human remains have been found here that can 

 be referred to the era of the copper workings. Neither are there 

 an)' evidences that there were furnaces or places where copper 

 was refined or melted, or where it was crushed in the rock and 

 aftersvards separated by washing, as we do now. 



It seems most prob.-dili' thit the people did not reside in the 

 country, but came in the sumnu'r from a mililer climate, bringing 

 their ])rovisions with them, and taking away, on their return in 

 the fail, the metal they had raised. 



